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Do you ever wonder whether your charitable donations actually make a difference or for that matter ever reach the intended recipients? Since we’re just coming out of the biggest giving season of the year it’s an appropriate time to explore these questions.

Since 2002 the majority of our charitable contributions have gone to Nu Skin’s Nourish the Children initiative (NTC) through VitaMeal donations. From the very beginning, a big part of Nu Skin’s mission has been to improve people’s lives. While striving to fulfill that mission, NSE has always promoted social responsibility, and giving back as core values. Nourish the Children and VitaMeal fit those criteria extremely well.

But how do we know for sure that NTC is truly making a difference and reaching those in need? Here are six reasons that immediately come to mind. Undoubtedly, there are more.

Product rather than cash – By donating product rather than cash, we know exactly how our contributions are being used and know that our donation is making a critical difference in the lives of children.

Destination reports – One of the benefits of making donations to NTC is that you automatically receive regular destination reports showing you where the donations are going and who’s receiving them. None of the other charities we contribute to have ever done this.

Four Star rated distribution partner – Virtually every country in the world has hungry children, but VitaMeal donations are delivered to places where children need it most. Feed The Children (primary distribution partner) is well suited to support NTC as one of the few charities that deal mostly with non-cash donations. CharityNavigator.org gives Feed the Children four stars.

Contributing to self-sufficiency – NSE has financed locally-owned and operated VitaMeal plants in Madilisto, Africa and Jixi, China providing both food and jobs for hundreds of local people. These plants make it much more efficient and less costly to provide VitaMeal to needy children in Malawi, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. Combined these plants produce well over a million meals a month.

170 million meals donated to date – Nearly 100,000 malnourished children are receiving highly nutritious food everyday through VitaMeal which is designed to support good health and reduce illness. Those receiving VitaMeal include children in China, Southeast Asia, AIDS orphans in Malawi, the Southwest US and victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami in Indonesia.

As Nu Skin distributors we all have the option to contribute to NTC. Support can be in the form of personal donations or through innovative social enterprise where you regularly generate donations as part of your business. So the next time you wonder whether your charitable donations are making a difference you only have to look to Nourish the Children for the answer. For us it is very gratifying to be NTC Ambassadors and to know without a doubt that our donations are indeed having a positive and measurable impact.